Ancient 'gospel' may have been used to tell fortunes

A 1,500-year-old 'gospel' may have been used as a spiritual guide to everyday problems, according to a researcher who has deciphered the text.

Written in Coptic, the language of ancient Egypt still used in the Coptic Church's liturgy today, the tiny book – only three inches high – was deciphered by Princeton papyrologist Anne Marie Luijendijk. It begins: "The Gospel of the lots of Mary, the mother of the Lord Jesus Christ, she to whom Gabriel the Archangel brought the good news. He who will go forward with his whole heart will obtain what he seeks. Only do not be of two minds."

In her book 'Forbidden Oracles? The Gospel of the Lots of Mary', Luijendijk says that she expected to find an account of the life of Jesus when she read the opening. However, the book consists of 37 vague 'oracles' which would have been used to help someone make decisions about a problem facing them, something like a newspaper horoscope. Keep reading

Photo: Harvard Art Museums/Arthur M. Sackler Museum